Since
its inception in 1978 the Williams F1 concern has built a global reputation
as one of the
frontrunners of competition engineering. With 113 Formula One
Grand Prix race wins, including 297 podiums and 126 pole positions, Williams
F1 is one of the most successful Formula One teams in the history of the
sport. On average, Williams F1 builds seven chassis per year. Over a thirty
year history, that's a lot of race cars, so, what happens to them?
The Williams
F1 Conference Centre is the headquarters of the Williams F1 operation in
Oxfordshire, and more than an office or design complex, a
meeting and business conference center, but at the heart of it the Williams
F1 Car
Museum. After running teams for others since the late 1960, Frank Williams
teamed with Patrick Head to found Williams Grand Prix Engineering in 1977
and fielded his first self-named car in 1978. Partnering with a succession
of engine manufacturers, Honda, Renault and Cosworth, BMW and Toyota the
Williams team has won 16 FIA Formula One World Championships, 9 of them
for constructors and sevgen drivers titles, with Alan Jones, Keke Rosberg,
Nelson
Piquet, Alain Prost, Nigel Mansell, Jacques Villeneuve and Damon Hill.

Forty of the Williams Grand Prix cars are found within the Williams F1
Conference Centre at the AT&T Williams technology campus in Grove,
Oxfordshire, where the company designs and manufactures its Formula One
race cars. One of the largest
private collections in the world, with a few exceptions (see Magny
Cours, Donington
Park and BMW
World) the Williams F1 Collection houses most of
the surviving Williams racing machines. The car collection at Williams
is not
generally open to the public except for one day per month, through a tour
of the cars and technical facility is featured as an experience included
with group and business events. The public days are generally one Friday
most months and cost £60 per person.

For
those who visit inside the sanctum, byond the curios racing car hedge
sculture at the front door, the center’s
Technology Room demonstrates the ever advancing technologies and the
essential components
which comprise a Formula One car, from aerodynamics and electronics
to hydraulics and the composite materials which form the modern Formula
One racing car.
The Trophy Room displays an impressive array of prestige trophies,
team
memorabilia and an Formula One simulator. The trophy room is used as
a setting for luncheon
and dinner events. A range of bespoke activities are available at the
Conference Centre for Corporate Hospitality and group tours of the private
Williams F1 Grand Prix
Collection. For individual visitors or tourist the opportunities are
subject to timing a visit to the monthly open day. For rail and car enthusiasts
the
nearby Didcot Railway Center offers a steam train and race car experience
(see Steam
and Speed).